Morphine Addiction Withdrawal

Morphine Addiction Withdrawal

Morphine addiction has been very prevalent in the recent times. Morphine falls under the category of opiates. It is derived from opium from the poppy plant in its raw form. It is known to have strong painkilling properties and is, therefore, prescribed by medical practitioners in the treatment of moderate to severe pain. In fact, this drug is used in relieving pain before, during, as well as, after surgical operations.

When morphine is taken in line with the dose prescribed by a qualified medical practitioner, an individual has a low chance of becoming addicted. However, the drug is quite addictive and, therefore, when taken in higher amounts than prescribed or purposes other than medical use, the individual can become hooked. This is because its addictive characteristics activate the brain’s reward systems.

With the high intensity of the brains’ anticipation of the reward, the individual can continuously crave the drug, in which case he or she would focus all attention on obtaining and consuming the drug.

The addiction comes about due to the drug’s ability to chemically change the brain’s normal functioning through the activation of its reward systems. In addition, it interferes with an individual’s consciousness level hindering his or her awareness of their surroundings or to, even, thinks properly.

With continued use of the drug, an individual can develop a chemical tolerance to morphine as well as physical and psychological dependency on the drug. With the development of a chemical tolerance, an individual will require higher amounts of the drug than the prescribed or initial amount in order to bring about the same euphoric effects. It is important to note that the chemical tolerance can vary within the time frame within which it develops depending on the individual.

With the development of a dependency (physical or psychological), an individual can undergo morphine withdrawal any time he or she makes an attempt to take a dose that is less than normal. These withdrawal symptoms have varying levels of severity depending on the amounts of morphine taken as well as the duration of time that the individual has been taking the drug.

Other relatively severe withdrawal symptoms include: increase in body temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate, as well as, blood pressure. Underlining the seriousness of taking morphine is the fact that it crosses the placenta in pregnant women and, therefore, the baby born from an addicted female would undergo the withdrawal symptoms.

Morphine withdrawal symptoms reach their peak in thirty-six to seventy-two hours. If they are not taken care of by a qualified medical practitioner (800-303-2482), they may continue for 5-7 days after which they would subside. Note that even after the withdrawal symptoms subside, the individual would continue having cravings for the drug for months or even years. In this case, the chances of going back to the drug are very high if the addiction is not taken care of.

Signing up at a rehabilitation center would enable you to get the necessary help. Better therapy and newer drugs have been invented to take care of the causes of the addiction as well as the resulting side effects.